Selectively adjustable roof bracket

ABSTRACT

Apparatus applicable to the roof beams of a building under construction and having selectively adjustable means for supporting rafters of varying sizes and at varying angular positions or pitches in a way that uncut rafters can be applied by unskilled workmen.

United States Patent Inventor Charles W. Tracy Tallahassee, Fla.

Appl. No. 854,401

Filed. Sept. 2, 1969 Patented Aug. 3, 1971 Assignee InternationalEnterprises, inc.

Tallahassee, Fla.

SELECTIVELY ADJUSTABLE ROOF BRACKET 5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.

U.S.CI 287/2034, 52/7l3 Int. Cl. F16!) 7/00 Field oi Search 287/2094,20.92 LP; 52/105, 715, 712, 713

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,423,898 l/l969 Tracy et al52/713 3,481,635 12/1969 Tracy 287/2094 Primary Examiner-David J.Williamowsky Assistant ExaminerWaync L. Shedd Au0meysA. Yates Dowell andA. Yates Dowell, Jr.

ABSTRACT: Apparatus applicable to the roof beams of a building underconstruction and having selectively adjustable means for supportingrafters of varying :sizes and at varying angular positions or pitches ina way that uncut rafters can be applied by unskilled workmen.

PATENTEU AUG 3 I971 SHEET 2 [1F 2 FIG. 8

INVENTI )R CHARLES w. TRACY W 1 r l AT'TO is? SELIECTIIVIELYADJUSTAIBILIE ROOF IIIIIIACIGET CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONSThe selectively adjustable roof bracket of the present application is anextension of the structures of US. Pat. Nos. 3,333,875 and 3,423,898,and that of allowed application Ser. No. 729,857, now US. Pat. No.3,481,635.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates generally to the construction or fabrication of the roofs ofbuildings and particularly to apparatus employed in the construction ofthe roof for facilitating the application and fastening of raftersextending between roof beams and the upper portions of the walls ofbuildings including roofs of varying pitches.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many and various types of devices havebeen employed in an effort to construct buildings, and particularly theroofs thereof, with less skilled labor, more expeditiously, and at lowercosts. Such devices have been expensive, complicated and difficult touse, particularly by unskilled craftsmen. The bracket of the presentinvention is an extension or different from the bracket in US. Pat. Nos.3,333,875 and 3,423,898 and allowed application Ser. No. 729,857.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS The present invention is auniversal or selectively adjustable roof bracket for use in theconstruction of the roof of a build ing and which roof bracket hasnumerous uses and advantages over other brackets including those listedabove although it likewise is of simple construction, applicable in aminimum of time with minimum effort, by unskilled labor, and willaccommodate rafters of various sizes at different angles or pitches. Thebracket of the present invention has a central portion, a pair ofoutwardly disposed generally parallel wings with openings for theselective receipt of fasteners or support members, and such bracket isadapted to be nailed to a rafter at the desired angle before it is putup and attached onto a hip beam and after it is nailed to the rafter thebracket with the rafter attached is put on the hip beam until a tab onthe bracket accurately locates the same, after which the bracket can benailed to the hip beam so that the parts will be fastened together inthe proper relation. The end of the rafter is supported by the hip beamwhile the opposite end is supported by the wall of the building.

It is an object of the invention to provide a selectively adjustable oruniversal roof bracket, of simple and inexpensive construction, whichcan be readily stamped from a single piece of metal, bent as required,and applied by an unskilled person to a rafter before being placed inits final attaching location against a hip beam, and with indicatingmeans to insure its being placed in the proper location, after which itcan be fastened in place in such location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective of a roof of abuilding under construction and illustrating multiple uses of theinvention;

FIG. 2, an enlarged fragmentary detail on the line 2-2 of FIG. ll;

FIG. 3, an enlarged part sectional fragmentary detail on the line 3-3off-16.2;

FIG. d, a vertical section on the line M of FIG. 2 of the bracketapplied or in use;

FIG. 5, a similar view on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6, an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the bracket in use andapplied prior to the fastening of the same to the hip;

FIG. 7, a perspective of the bracket itself;

FIG. 8, a view of one side of a stamping prior to its being bent toshape; and

FIG. 9, a similar view from the opposite side.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, abuilding is provided having upright sidewalls on which are cap membersII that support hip beams 12, jack rafters l3 and rafters Ml which carrya ridge beam 15. Thus the roof may be of the desired configuration. Theseveral rafters may be attached to the cap members ill by generallyU-shaped brackets 16. In order to save labor and time in construction ofa roof by unskilled workmen, it is desirable to avoid the cutting ofrafters, and in order to connect beams and rafters the selectivelyadjustable or universal roof bracket 17 of the present invention isprovided. It can be readily stamped or otherwise fabricated from sheetmetal or other relatively strong bendable material and then bent toreceive the upper end of a rafter to which it is to be attached beforebeing applied to and allowed to rest on and be fastened on a hip, ridgeor other beam or support,

The bracket of the present invention has a central portion 18 withgenerally coextensive wings or side members 19 and 20 adapted to be bentalong the lines 21 and 22 to form the finished bracket of FIG. 7. Theangularity of the Wings 19 and 20 is, of course, dependent upon theangularity of the rafter or rafter beam or member to which it is to beapplied.

The bracket includes tab portions 23 and 24 at the extremities of thecentral portion 18, having openings 25 and 26 for receipt of suitablefasteners, and the wings are provided with openings 27 and 25 for asimilar purpose. The wings also are provided with side inspectionopenings 29 and 30, and a driving opening 3ll so that a nail can bedriven through an opening 32 to fasten the intermediate portion of thecenter strip 18 to a vertical support surface of a rafter. The bracketalso is provided with a pair of locating tabs 33 and 34 adapted to bebent to form indicating means when the bracket is applied to a hip beam12, ridge beam 15, or other beam.

The selectively adjustable bracket of the present invention not onlyconnects the rafter to a hip beam, to a reverse type or valley beam, andalso to a ridge beam, but facilitates the assembly in that it is appliedto the rafter on the ground or in easily accessible position and then iselevated so that the end of the rafter with the bracket on it is in itsfinal position with the indicator tabs 33 and 3d bent to determine thefinal position so that the associated tab portion 23 or 24 can bereadily fastened in place. In other words, as illustrated in FIG. 6, thebracket is applied to the beam on the ground or in easily accessibleposition, then the end of the rafter with the bracket attached is placedin the final position where it will be supported on a hip beam, valleybeam, ridge beam or the like and nailed in place through the openings 25and 26 in the tabs 23 and 24.

An important additional feature of the present invention are the pitchlines 35 and 36 interrupted respectively by inspection openings 29 and30. These pitch lines are of two sets, one for 2X4 timbers, and theother for 2X6 timbers, and at different angles. Since the bracket ismounted on the rafter before the rafter is attached, the bottom of therafter is aligned with the pitch line running from the outer edge of thebracket through the appropriate inspection opening.

As will be apparent from an observation of FIGS. 7 and 5, the centralportion 18 of the bracket is provided with bend lines 35 indicating theangularity at which the end portions 23 and 2M are bent so that theywill lie flat upon the supporting member to which they are applied. Thisbending may be accomplished simultaneously with the application of thebracket to the rafter while on the ground, or it can be bent after beingattached to the rafter and upon application of the bracket to itssupport member prior to the application of fasteners through theopenings 25 and 26.

It will be understood from the foregoing that a selectively adjustableor universal roof bracket is provided which may readily be stamped ofsheet metal and easily applied at either side ofa hip or valley bracket,as well as to a ridge beam at the predetermined desired pitch and thusthe rafter may be securely fastened in place by an unskilled workman.

Iclaim:

l. A selectively adjustable roof bracket for mounting a rafter onto abeam at a predetermined pitch comprising an elongated central portion ofa width substantially corresponding to the width of a rafter, a pair ofwings integrally connected to said central portion along predeterminedbend lines, means for connecting said central portion to the beam, eachof said wings having at least one relatively large inspection openinglocated in a predetermined position and a plurality of relatively smallfastener-receiving openings spaced at random throughout said wings, eachof said wings having indicia indicating a plurality of pitch linesdisposed in nonparallel relationship and at predetermined angles to eachother, said pitch lines extending from said inspection opening to theedge of said wing remote from said central portion, and said wings beingbent substantially along said bend lines to a position substantiallyparallel with each other, whereby when said bracket is applied to arafter with the wings on opposite sides, and the bottom edge of therafter is disposed along one of the pitch lines and is visible throughsaid inspection opening, the wings are secured to the rafter byfasteners extending through certain of said relatively small fasteneropenings to secure the bracket onto the rafter at said predeterminedroof pitch before the rafter is connected to the beam.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said means for connecting saidcentral portion to the beam includes an end portion at each end of saidcentral portion and extending outwardly beyond said wings, at least oneof said end portions adapted to be bent to a position overlying saidbeam, and means for connecting said end portion to said beam.

3. The structure of claim 1 including a tab on at least one of saidwings, said tab adapted to be bent to a position generally normal to theplane of the wing for indicating the position of the bracket relative tothe beam.

4, The structure of claim 1 in which at least one of said wings includesa relatively large opening adjacent to said central portion to permit afastener to be driven through said central portion into said beam.

5. The structure of claim 1 including a plurality of spaced inspectionopenings in each of said wings, pitch-indicating indicia extending fromeach of said inspection openings to the edge of said wing remote fromsaid central portion so that said bracket will accommodate rafters ofdifferent sizes.

1. A selectively adjustable roof bracket for mounting a rafter onto abeam at a predetermined pitch comprising an elongated central portion ofa width substantially corresponding to the width of a rafter, a pair ofwings integrally connected to said central portion along predeterminedbend lines, means for connecting said central portion to the beam, eachof said wings having at least one relatively large inspection openinglocated in a predetermined position and a plurality of relatively smallfastener-receiving openings spaced at random throughout said wings, eachof said wings having indicia indicating a plurality of pitch linesdisposed in nonparallel relationship and at predetermined angles to eachother, said pitch lines extending from said inspection opening to theedge of said wing remote from said central portion, and said wings beingbent substantially along said bend lines to a position substantiallyparallel with each other, whereby when said bracket is applied to arafter with the wings on opposite sides, and the bottom edge of therafter is disposed along one of the pitch lines and is visible throughsaid inspection opening, the wings are secured to the rafter byfasteners extending through certain of said relatively small fasteneropenings to secure the bracket onto the rafter at said predeterminedroof pitch before the rafter is connected to the beam.
 2. The structureof claim 1 in which said means for connecting said central portion tothe beam includes an end portion at each end of said central portion andextending outwardly beyond said wings, at least one of said end portionsadapted to be bent to a position overlying said beam, and means forconnecting said end portion to said beam.
 3. The structure of claim 1including a tab on at least one of said wings, said tab adapted to bebent to a position generally normal to the plane of the wing forindicating the position of the bracket relative to the beam.
 4. Thestructure of claim 1 in which at least one of said wings includes arelatively large opening adjacent to said central portion to permit afastener to be driven through said central portion into said beam. 5.The structure of claim 1 including a plurality of spaced inspectionopenings in each of said wings, pitch-indicating indicia extending fromeach of said inspection openings to the edge of said wing remote fromsaid central portion so that said bracket will accommodate rafters ofdifferent sizes.